Large-scale public events being canceled due to the pandemic may seem normal now, but it was genuinely shocking when the 2020 Geneva Motor Show was canceled. This was the first time the Swiss motor show had been canceled since 1940, resulting in financial losses estimated at around $11.3 million. It was also one of the first global events that got canceled as the coronavirus spread around the world.

The 2021 Geneva Motor Show was also canceled, but organizers have confirmed it will return in 2022. Media days will be held on February 17 and 18 before the show opens its doors to the public on February 19-27, 2022.

Registrations for exhibitors are now open, so automakers can begin planning their stands for the show. Next year's Geneva Motor Show promises to be an "exciting evolution" and "substantially different from the past," although no details about the changes we can expect have been announced. There were rumors the next Geneva Motor Show will be a media-only event, but organizers confirmed the 2022 show will be open to the public.

Over the years, many automakers have pulled out of Geneva in favor of online events as traditional auto shows have become less relevant and too expensive. After the 2020 Geneva Motor Show was canceled, new models such as the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, Bentley Bacalar, and Porsche 911 Turbo that were supposed to debut at the event were revealed in digital events instead.

"With the dispatch of the tender packages, we are now officially starting the organization of GIMS 2022. My team and I can hardly wait to present our concept to the exhibitors and subsequently to the public. We really hope that the health situation and the corresponding policy regulations regarding Covid 19 will allow us to bring it to life," said Sandro Mesquita, CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show.

Before the 2022 Geneva Motor Show takes place next February, Germany's International Motor Show will move to Munich in September this year and the LA Auto Show will return this November.